The next big thing in the super middleweight division has firmly arrived.
One fight after a disappointing performance in a middleweight title shot against Carlos Adames that ended via a heavily disputed draw, Hamzah Sheeraz made a spectacular statement in his 168-pound debut on Saturday.
In the main event of an exciting "Ring III" card, presented by Turki Alalshikh, Sheeraz scored a pair of knockdowns to break open a tense start before brutally finishing Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) in Round 5 inside Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
The victory made Sheeraz, a 26-year-old from England, the mandatory challenger to undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez's WBO title. Alvarez must first defend his titles against former undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford on Sept. 13.
"I promise, I swear to you, whoever was in the ring with me today, there would be no stopping me [tonight]," Sheeraz said. "After my last fight, the amount of abuse I got on social media and in person, I understand it's part of boxing but it made me a hungry fighter. When I say there was nothing stopping me, there was nothing stopping me."
Sheeraz (22-0-1, 17 KOs) looked flat at times and out of answers at others when he appeared headed toward his first defeat against Adames in February before the highly contested scorecards were revealed. He not only moved up in weight, he switched trainers to former middleweight champion and knockout artist Andy Lee and the results were explosive.
"Just a massive thank you to Andy Lee, a man who put his faith and his trust in me," Sheeraz said. "Even in the first few rounds, I was losing them but we had a plan. I told him in his ear, 'I could hunt this guy down.' I told him and he believed me and not many coaches would do that."
After a tense trio of opening rounds, in which Berlanga's power jab jousted on even terms in a continued battle of front-foot placement with Sheeraz's larger variety of hooks, body shots, overhand rights and a stinging jab.
Berlanga, the brash 28-year-old from nearby Brooklyn who went the distance in a one-sided loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2024, stood tall physically in the clinch and made a good account for himself in a sharp, patient start. But once the events of Round 4 began to unfold, Sheeraz's versatile offensive attack began to plant its own flag in a new division.
After eating a flush left hook from Berlanga to open the round, Sheeraz began to slowly weaken Berlanga's guard with timely overhand rights. A late left hook set up a stinging two-punch combo to drop Berlanga before a swarming combination sent him back down the canvas almost as soon as he got up.
Referee David Fields chose to let a visibly weary Berlanga continue despite appearing as if he might be out of his feet but the bell to end the round saved Berlanga. Safety, however, would be about short as the 60-second break between rounds.
Sheeraz jumped all over Berlanga in Round 5 and after a lead left hook was blocked, the tall slugger followed through with a right cross that knocked Berlanga down and out for good. Fields immediately waived off the fight at 17 seconds of the round.
"[Sheeraz] has a big heart and he's very strong in the left hand," Lee said. "We are only scratching the surface. There is so much potential left in this guy, there's no limit as to how far he can go. Listen, take notice, new star in world boxing, Hamzah Sheeraz."
When asked about the possibility of a future fight against Alvarez, Sheeraz was respectful and direct.
"Listen, Canelo has always been a boxing hero of mine so even for my name to be mentioned in the same sentence as his is a great achievement, myself," Sheeraz said. "If I do get the opportunity to fight him, it won't be one of those where I try to nick it on points. I will stand in the middle with him and have it out. Whoever lands first, I suppose they get knocked out.
"After my last performance, before this, no promoter would have given me an opportunity. His Excellency [Alalshikh] gave me the opportunity to bounce right back. I spoke to him Monday and he said, 'Put on a great performance for me,' and I stuck to my word."
Elsewhere on the card, Shakur Stevenson put on a performance many had asked for him in dominating William Zepeda to retain his WBC lightweight title. Plus, Subriel Matias edged past Alberto Puello to earn a junior welterweight title. And former super middleweight champion David Morrell eked by Imam Khataev for a split decision win to get back on track after his first career loss against David Benavidez in February.
CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with live results and highlights below.
ROUND 5: It didn't take long for Sheeraz to end the fight as another brutal combo dropped Berlanga and caused Fields to bring an end to the fight. It's a breakthrough KO for Sheeraz in his 168-pound debut.
ROUND 4: Berlanga was ultimately saved by the bell as referee David Fields let Berlanga continue despite him looking weary on his feet following the second knockdown. One more punch could have finished him. (10-7 Sheeraz; 39-35 HS)
ROUND 4: Berlanga does down a second time after a violent combination and he's hurt BADLY!
ROUND 4: Down goes Berlanga on a three-punch combo!
ROUND 3: A close and fun round as it continued to heat up the longer it was. Sheeraz gets the overall edge due to his quick counter combinations but Berlanga very much remains in the fight. His jab is heavy and he caused blood to trickle from Sheeraz's nose in a close round. (10-9 Sheeraz; 29-28 HS)
ROUND 2: In a jousting battle of the jabs, it was Sheeraz that took the slight edge in this tense contest, of which they are still figuring each other out. Berlanga retained his heavy jab but Sheeraz had more variety in his counter shots and he commanded the center of the ring throughout. (10-9 Sheeraz; 19-19)
ROUND 1: Very close and interesting opening round as, after a slow start of pawing in circles, they began to take turns landing single shots. Both had their moments as things heated up in the second half but it was the consistent, thudding jab of Berlanga that produced the best work in a close round. (10-9 Berlanga)
It's time for the main event. Up next, a 12-round super middleweight showdown between Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz.
"I proved that I'm a dog," Stevenson said.
SCORECARDS: 118-110, 118-110, 119-109 for Shakur Stevenson. It's a unanimous decision for the WBC lightweight champion.
UNOFFICIAL SCORECARD: I've got it 117-111 for Stevenson. He took Zepeda's pressure head on and largely avoided trouble in a showcase of clean combination punching.
ROUND 12: Stevenson closed the show with a series of clean combination punching in the center of the ring. This was great work from one of the pound-for-pound best boxers in the game. (10-9 Stevenson; 117-111 SS)
ROUND 11: Stevenson landed some of his cleanest work in this round by countering and Zepeda is slowing just enough for Stevenson to own and maintain distance. The crowd booed Stevenson late as he began to circle away from pressure.
ROUND 10: They took turns early with combinations. Stevenson landed the more meaningful shots and took over control of the second half. Zepeda remains game but Stevenson is too technical and accurate. He's also willing to stand in the fire to get this done.
ROUND 9: Stevenson landed the bigger combinations throughout. It was never enough to deter Zepeda from coming forward and landing a decent counter fire of his own but many of Zepeda's punches were partially blocked. Stevenson, on the other hand, put on a display of clean power punching. (10-9 Stevenson; 87-84 SS)
ROUND 8: The first half of this round was fought on very even terms in the center of the ring. Stevenson landed the cleaner shots, usually by combination, but the vaunted pressure of Zepeda was relentless and he eventually overtook control in the second half of the round by upping his output. Zepeda pinned Stevenson to the ropes with clean hooks and was all over him in a fun rally. (10-9 Zepeda; 77-75 SS)
ROUND 7: More of the same as Zepeda's often effective pressure was outshined by the power shots of an increasingly more comfortable Stevenson. The champion is doing a better job the more Zepeda fatigues at creating more distance between them so Stevenson has room to hit and duck away from any counter shots. (10-9 Stevenson; 68-65 SS)
ROUND 6: Stevenson really stood his ground and sat down on hard combinations to make a statement. The pressure from Zepeda was still there and pockets of success were still found, particularly with his power jab. But Stevenson's willingness to mix it up and take some punches has allowed him access to the real estate where he can pick Zepeda off clean with big shots. (10-9 Stevenson; 58-56 SS)
ROUND 5: Another close round but Stevenson did a better job getting off the ropes. Zepeda certainly had his moments where pressure amped up but Stevenson landed the cleaner power shots, including a three-punch combo late that snapped the head of Zepeda. (10-9 Stevenson; 48-47 SS)
ROUND 4: What a fun round with both fighters giving as good as they received. Stevenson ultimately spent too much time on the ropes. Even though he avoided getting hit clean consistently, the visuals of Zepeda taking over the terms of the fight and flurrying against him in a vulnerable position could affect the scoring. Stevenson landed some big counter shots but a looping left hand late by Zepeda swayed the momentum. (10-9 Zepeda; 38-38)
ROUND 3: Stevenson is also willing to absorb a bit of shots, mostly to the body, in order to hold his ground and that helped make this an incredible round of two-way fighting at an extremely high pace. Stevenson got the better of the work in the first half and did so by really sitting down on his combinations in the center of the ring. But an inevitable Zepeda rally started to build with body shots and briefly knocked Stevenson off balance with a stiff jab. Zepeda followed up with power shots to steal the round. (10-9 Zepeda; 29-28 SS)
ROUND 2: If there was any concern over whether Stevenson would stand and fight Zepeda, he answered those questions in a round that became more competitive late when Zepeda started scoring to the body and unleashing combinations. Stevenson stung him with a counter combination late and it was his incredible defense at close range that won out. (10-9 Stevenson; 20-18 SS)
ROUND 1: Stevenson's defense and clean countering were enough to cancel Zepeda's sustained pressure and body shots. Even with his back to the ropes or in the corner, Stevenson was comfortable countering with combinations. (10-9 Stevenson)
Stevenson has been as high as a 12-to-1 betting favorite as he prepares for a clash of styles between southpaws pairing the high volume and pressure from Zepeda against the surgical counterpunching of Stevenson.
The co-main event is up next as WBC lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson faces off with unbeaten mandatory challenger William Zepeda.
Puello outlanded Matias, 267 to 255, according to CompuBox over the 12 rounds.
After the fight, Dalton Smith entered the ring and was announced by Turki Alalshikh as the first title challenge for Subriel Matias, later this fall, as he begins his reign as WBC champion.
This was definitely a close fight. It's hard to quibble with the score going either way. But what a hard-luck loss that is for Puello after completely regaining the momentum in the second half and looking like he was close to a possible stoppage win late.
SCORECARDS: 114-114, 115-113 (twice) for Matias. They gave it to the former champion by majority decision.
UNOFFICIAL SCORECARD: I've got it 115-113 for Puello. He pulled off the comeback and dominated late. He also showed a backbone.
